One Action ended the age of the British Empire in a symbological fashion where the lower and Middle Classes warred against the Nobility and overturned the discourse of Power.

For a great number of Years the people of England were tiresome, they grew tiered of endless wars with other Nations, they grew tiered of an ever changing religious environement that brought persecution, they grew tiered of an Ideal which had widened a gap between the upper and lower classes. Whilst England was seen as superior and dominant for her upper classes, the lower classes saw her more and more like a prison.

HM Queen Victoria was on the Throne at the time.

England having recently created the Trade Union system to try and benefit workers of the lower and middle classes, would play a crucial role in the end of Her International Reign and Empire.

They were only asking for an extra shilling or dime an hour. It was not an unreasonable request for the workers of the Largest and most busy import/export docks in the world. The London Dockland, covering both sides of the Themes for a little more then a square mile, beyond THE Square Mile.

But the Managers refused to pay the workers. For the first time in History a major strike occured. It started with a single dock on the south bank, "The West India Docks" where a ship was in the proccess of being unloaded then...the whole wharf...then, the whole Docklands :scared0015:

They marched peacefully on the streets of London, united, a mass of thousands upon thousands of workers. More then one hundred and thirty thousand to be precise. But the Company waited it out knowing that when funds ran short, the dockers would be forced back to work.

But Tillet, the worker responsible for the straw that broke the camels back began to picket the docks, organise marches, and called upon his friends in the political socialist parties, as they gained recognition they discovered their needs were being met with mass donations, the Salvation Army decided to support their cause providing food, when this happened, the Newspapers began uttering and before you knew it, the entire Country heard about the dockers, and the underclass growled in response, financially, and practically.

At the start of September 1889, other parts of the Empire heard of the Strike, and other dockers from other parts of the world sent their monies, from as far afield as Austrilia :scared0011:

The Docks had now been closed a full week....and still the Company refused the pay rise.

September third, and with the imports and exports now clogging the theames, north sea and channel, it was time for the Ship owners and import/export companies to begin their complaint. Cargo was rotting on boats :unsure-1:

by the Fifth of September The Lord Mayor of London began to get distressed and try to form Diplomatic relations with both sides, He, along with the Cardinal of Westminster for the Roman Catholic Church attempted to create a committee that would bring an end to a strike

on September 16th 1889 AD the Company folded and granted the workers their payrise

Things have never been the same in England since :laugh: This Victory would pave the way for the rise of Unions within England that would not faulter with the coming world wars.

Jonlion

03-01-2009, 10:18 PM

You see that as bad thing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My family are practically a line of Dockers.

So my Granddad was a Stevedore, which means you are a son of a Docker which gave you slightly more precedent over the Dockers.

Millwall set up a day to remember the Dockers and my Granddad got to go twice.

http://www.millwallsupportersclub.co.uk/fotb/dockers_day.asp

Cut a long story short, that was a hard, dangerous job, Granddad knows many people who died workign that and they worked for peanuts. And i woudl support and back them everytime for the action they took.

There are more prevalent reasons for the collapse of our Empire than the Trade Unions. Besides the Unions fought for what is right.

I shall talk to my Granddad about it but he has some good stories.

The main point is UP the Dockers!

Tyburn

03-01-2009, 10:27 PM

I'm Duff...of the Clan MacDuff...I'm Scot Nobility, in Bloodline. King David of Scotland gave my ancestors a large area of land, where there are to this day Towns named after the clan, and we have our own tartan.

I am Two Generation removed from Scotland itself. My Fathers, Dad was Scotish...but I am English with a Noble Scot pedigree...Noble

...as in Elite...as in...Empire Loving...as in upper class... :laugh: if the Scots hadnt been crushed by England and the crown taken land which...to be fair...belongs TO ME...I would be a Noble by Title aswell I expect